


Monster Under the Bed

by Merytsetesh



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: #ghostangstweek2020, Angst, Canonical Character Death, M/M, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:09:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22427611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merytsetesh/pseuds/Merytsetesh
Summary: After the three Papas are murdered, Copia makes a discovery while exploring the Papal Apartments, and realizes his promotion came at a terrible price.
Relationships: Cardinal Copia/Special Ghoul
Comments: 13
Kudos: 42





	Monster Under the Bed

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Ghost Angst Week on Tumblr. The prompt was "Forgotten Ghoul."
> 
> The demonic glitched out text for Copia's spell is done in the Zalgo text generator from Lingojam.

Cardinal Copia walked into the Papal Apartments like he owned the place. Which he kind of did, even though it wasn’t yet official. Still it was only a matter of time before he wore the skull paint, and in the meanwhile he wanted to get a look at his future fancy new digs.

Looking around, it was more tasteful than he expected. Knowing the previous occupant’s style he’d been expecting a gaudy, art deco nightmare. There was still a lot of black and gold, but it was muted by touches of cream and wooden fixtures. The bronze nude in the entryway was erotic without outright obscenity. The leather sectional sofa looked comfortable and well worn. He even kind of dug the checkerboard tile backsplash in the kitchen. All in all, it would take less renovation than Copia expected, though that chandelier in the dining room could go straight into the garbage.

The rooms still bore all the signs of having been occupied not three months before. As soon as the deed had been done, Papa Nihil had ordered the Papal Apartments sealed, and so they had stayed until Cardinal Copia had lifted the key. No one had been in or out, not even to clean the growing layers of dust. In the office there were papers and folders stacked on the desk by an overflowing in box. An empty mug of coffee had left a brown ring on a document that would never be signed. The kitchen had dishes in the drying rack. In the bedroom a paperback was on the nightstand and the large fourposter bed was unmade, ready for its occupant to return. Copia zeroed in on the nightstand and opened up the drawers, but didn’t find anything more salacious than the usual lube, condoms, and a few fun toys, though he did wonder if those were intended for guests or Papa himself. Maybe both.

It wasn’t until he was in the bathroom about to open the medicine cabinet when he saw Papa’s toothbrush by the sink that it really hit him.

_Papa was dead._

Papa Emeritus III was never going to walk out on stage again to the screams of thousands of adoring devotees. He was never going to sit on the stool in his bedroom and play the acoustic guitar hanging on the wall. He was never going to finish the book on the nightstand. He was never going to pick up that toothbrush and do normal, everyday activities, because Sister Imperator had him killed so Copia could take his place.

A chill trailed down Copia’s spine, and he decided against digging through the medicine cabinet. Instead he sat down on the unmade bed (the mattress was memory foam, he was definitely keeping it when he moved in) and immediately smacked his ankle into something sharp.

“Ouch…”

He leaned over to look under the bed and saw the corner of some kind of container. Pulling it out, he saw it was a wooden chest slightly larger than a shoe box.

“I guess this is where he kept the kinky stuff. Smaller than I expected.” He gave it a shake and something inside rattled. There wasn’t a lock, which was as good as an invitation to Copia. He lifted the lid, and a silver face stared back at him with empty eyes.

“A ghoul mask? That’s it?”

There wasn’t anything else in the box to give any clue as to why Papa had a ghoul mask hidden under his bed like a teenager with a stack of skin mags.

Maybe it had belonged to Omega, Copia wondered. It had been a pretty big scandal within the ministry when Papa had banished the ghoul back to Hell. Omega had been popular, but the clash of egos had disrupted the Ghost project, and Papa had been forced to make the hard choice.

Copia hadn’t thought they’d been close enough for Papa to keep his mask, though he’d heard the rumors the same as everyone. He hadn’t believed them though, because Special had never said anything to him, and Copia trusted Special to let him know anything important happening in the band.

Of all the ghouls in the abbey, Special was the only one with whom Copia was close. At first he’d been leery of him, expecting the ghoul to treat Copia with the same disdain the rest did, an attitude they’d picked up from Emeritus III. Papa had never made any secret of his resentment of Copia for rising through the ranks so quickly without being a part of the bloodline. Special, however, had never treated Copia with anything other than polite professionalism, and later growing affection.

At the thought of the ghoul Copia’s breath hitched in his chest. It had been months since they had last seen each other. Prior to his elevation to Ghost frontman, Copia had not been particularly popular, and the few friends he had he coveted. But Special had not sought him out since the night they spent together, and his absence hurt Copia more than he'd expected. They’d gone long stretches of time without speaking before; Copia had many demands on his time, and Special was reclusive by nature when not on tour. But to not visit Copia after what had transpired between them was…telling. Copia had known making their relationship physical could change things for the worse, but hadn’t expected the silent treatment. After a few weeks of zero contact, it had become obvious that Special regretted it. Copia had done his best to forget about the whole situation and move on.

Pushing the hurt aside, Copia returned his attention to the puzzle of the mask. He lifted it out of the box and turned it over in his gloved hands curiously. Clearly Papa had it for a reason, otherwise it would be in the sacristy with the other unused masks waiting for new ghouls to be summoned. Concentrating, he turned his gaze to its polished surface and whispered a command.

“R̵̰̋͂͝É̶͍̈́͝V̵̗͐͆E̷̥̖̞̐̉̅A̶̖͈͗̽̂Ļ̸̼̽̑̚ ̴̢̛̬͗͠Y̸̢̲͠Ó̸̡̱̃͘Ú̵̼̌R̵̡̮̈́́S̶̻̾Ę̴̣͓̅L̶̡͎̹̈͝F̵̠͉͚́̐.”

To his surprise, he saw his own visage form in his mind’s eye. Using the mask as the locus, the psychometry spell had manifested as a memory from the point of view of the mask’s former bearer, and through the eyeholes he watched his own face twist with pleasure. They were in Copia’s bedroom, and this was the last time he’d seen Special: the night they finally admitted there was more than friendship between them.

In the physical world Copia gripped the mask tighter, and the polished metal edge dug into his palm. Special hadn’t been avoiding him: he’d been banished back to Hell and Papa had hidden the evidence. Copia hadn’t even noticed he was missing, he thought bitterly.

But why had Papa banished Special? Had he fought with Papa like Omega had? It seemed out of character for the soft spoken, thoughtful ghoul. Or had Papa known about Special’s relationship with Copia and disapproved? There was no rule against it, so why other than just to fuck over Copia by going after those he lo—

The memory didn’t end after their encounter was over. Special left Copia sated and sleeping, only instead of returning to his own dorm room in the catacombs he went upstairs.

Copia relived the memory with growing unease, expecting at any moment to see someone lunge out of the shadows. Had whatever befallen Special happened that same evening? Had the night they made love been Special’s last night on Earth?

Special came to the entryway of a hall Copia knew very well. Two ghouls stood sentry, but they did little more than flick their tails as Special strolled past them. Clearly they recognized him, but Copia hadn’t been aware of any ghoul that could so blithely come and go as he pleased in the Papal wing. He walked down the long hallway and stopped before the last ornate door. Instead of knocking, he pulled out the same key Copia had stolen earlier today.

As Special entered Papa’s rooms, a hundred questions flew through Copia’s mind. How had Special gotten the key? Had he stolen it like Copia, or been given it? Copia wasn’t sure which was worse: that Special might be trespassing into Papa’s room for some nefarious purpose for which he’d been caught and punished; or that he’d been given an open invitation and all that implied.

Trapped in the memory of a past event, Copia could do nothing to stop Special when he waltzed into the master bedroom. Papa wasn’t in the bedroom either, but that didn’t stop Special from making himself at home.

That was it then, Copia realized at Special kicked off his shoes by the door with the familiarity of long habit. Papa and Special were lovers. It was why the guards let him through, why he had a key. But it still didn’t explain why his mask was hidden under Papa’s bed, and now Copia feared that Special’s infidelity had cost him his freedom. Or worse.

In a dizzying moment of synchrony, memory Special sat down on the bed in the same spot Copia was now. He reached under the bed to pull out a familiar box, and a far worse possibility dawned on Copia.

When Special opened the box, it was empty.

“No,” Copia whispered, but even as he said it he knew the truth.

The world spun as Special removed his mask and placed it back in the box, and Copia choked on the bile rising in this throat. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the memory wasn’t using his physical eyes; it did nothing to block out the sight of Papa Emeritus III smiling softly as he closed the lid.

The mask fell to the floor as Copia buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

**Author's Note:**

> Now you know why Special Ghoul hasn't done any interviews this cycle. I know a lot of fics have Special as a separate character from Papa, but I really like the idea of him being Papa in disguise.


End file.
